My theory is that it wasn't Joseph William who was the ordnance sergeant. The odnance sergeant was JW Brown. Unfortunatley, JW always went by JW and very rarely by his full name, Joshua Wilson. In the census, he is anything from Joshuay, to John and once even Justina! I don't think many people knew his first name.
There is a Joseph William, born 1837, in the 1860 census for Mercer County, Virginia. I think the first two cards in his packet are his and whoever was copying the cards assumed the JW stood for Joseph William. He had a number of brothers who I think died in the war. Exchanging messages with people who have him on their tree, it is thought in his family that he died May 16, 1862. Probably at Princeton County Courthouse in Mercer? Confederate soldiers who died there, though, were buried in a mass grave. So far, I have not found documentation for his death. He was a young, unmarried man so nobody has passed down letters or anything from him that I can find.
If you look in the 1860 Kanawha County census, there is Joshua W Brown of Paint Creek. There was a letter from his daughter, Lorena Brown, written in 1862-63 as the family fled Kanawha for Union in Monroe County. The letter was received in 1863 by her aunt Lurinda Powell, married to Watkin Powell, in Cincinnati. Lorena describes the ordeal from the point of view of a twelve year old. THe names in the letter are the very same as the ones in the census. Lorena describes her father as a soldier and when he is home of furlough describes how her mother is sewing the stars on her father's uniform. This letter was donated to the West Virginia archives in the 1960's. I have a transcription, but not the original letter. This JW was born in 1824 which is the right age for the JW who signed the parole document and is describes as having dark hair and eyes. We have a picture of him taken shortly after the war and he is dark. He reunited with this family in Cincinnati after the war and guess where this JW signed his oath of allegiance?
Unfortunately, Joshua did not use his full name. Only JW. So it will be very difficult for me to find documentation to back the conclusion that whenever the records were transcribed, the JW for the ordnance sergeant was mistakenly assumed to be for Joseph William. This also indicated to me that no record of his death survives. The rosters for the units are mainly reconstructed and if Joshua was assumed to be Joseph, it is no wonder he does not appear on any roster. In the letter, Lorena mentions that the col. brought Joshua's stars from Richmond, so his records there probably burned. I'll bet he used JW there, though, too.
ON a practical angle, I find it hard to believe that the unit would have entrusted a young farm boy to handle getting supplies and organizing things and doing the paperwork for an entire unit. Joshua was well educated and experienced.
If I can find a death report for Joseph William, that would help. There is no record of Joseph William from Mercer County after the war, but there is plenty for Joshua W.
Thank you so much for the clarification on how the term officer relates. I found that most interesting and helpful and I appreciate your taking the time to relate it to me. Thank you so much!